Flambards Shoot
As Flambards Theme Park was our first shoot I was always expecting there to be a few minor hitches and glitches as we all found our feet on the production, however I think it went quite well. I did find it quite hard to establish myself within my Directorial role, I felt like the while shoot was a bit rushed and extremely under crewed, but we got all the shots we needed and that was the main objective.
The first shot we set up for was when Ollie sets up the video camera before doing a diary entry. We set up the tracks, I am a fan of the tracks, and the shot started as the image above shows and ended as the image below shows. I am really happy with the composition of this shot, the angle of the lines in the frame is very pleasing to the eye and the use of hornet carriages is very fitting with the theme of the film. I like the colour palette created in this scene and think it will work really well in the edit once colour graded. However the track is not faultless, it wobbles at places and there is a strange pan towards the end but that could be cut out in the edit. I think if I were to do it again I would try and get a smoother track, I think I was just a bit rusty at using them.
This is a screen grab of the video diary we filmed next. In this scene Ollie is telling his sister Emma that he is nearly out of food and reminiscing about when their mum used to force them to eat brussel sprouts. It is a very moving and intimate moment for the character and using down the lens as a device brings the viewer in to this moment with him, also the acting is very strong which makes this part powerful. I like the angle and composition of this shot as it really does make it feel like we are viewing his video diary.
Next we moved on to shots around the
rails, we did some with the character walking under rails and some where he was
sat on the rails looking around, as shown in the images above. I really like
the composition above, once the trees in the background are removed in post it
will give the illusion that Ollie is high up. It will be cut with shot of him
looking out over clay pits as if they are next to the fairground, I think this
will look great in the final film and will make it look impressive for a
student production.
This shot is where Ollie is climbing the
ladder to get a better view from the top. I think the centering and low angle
of this shot makes what could be a very boring shot look interesting and
pleasing to the eye.
This is one of my favourite shots from
the Flambards shoot as I got to don a harness and climb to the top of the
hornet rollercoaster. The predominance of grey in this shot will work well in
the film, especially once it has been graded. I really like the lines also, the
curves created by the pillars and shadows are visually interesting. Not much is
happening within this part, Ollie is just kicking a bottle but it helps show a
bit more of his surroundings and reinforce the fact that he is all alone in
this world. Using a deserted fairground, a place that we normally associate to
be buzzing activity and fun, subliminally reinforces how changed the world is
to the viewer.
While up the top of the roller coaster I
got a few other shots, one being Ollie walking along the middle of the log
flume, as shown above. Although this does not serve much purpose in the telling
of his story it works well to show a bit more if his playful side as he jumps
on to the concrete block. It is also a good travelling shot which we need a lot
of to underpin the fact that he is on a journey to a new place. I like the
composition of this as it is another aerial angle that aren’t normally
accessible for student productions and the vertical lines look impressive.
This shot is where Ollie looks up at the
rollercoaster before he climbs it. I think this below angle is nice as you can
clearly see what he is looking at when he turns, as it is isolated. I really
like the lighting on his face here too, it highlights the expression on his
face well.
The tuna scene, this is where Ollie sees
a stray animal while he is eating a tin of tuna. He feeds the animal even
though we know as an audience that he has little left. The intention of this
scene was to make the viewer really care about the main character as he does
something beyond what he needs to do to survive, he makes a kind gesture and it
is reinforced that he is a really kind person. We did end up having to cut it
from the film as there was not enough time, which is a shame as I feel it is a
lovely moment. If I cut a longer version this scene will return.
This is an extra sequence that was not
scripted but we decided to do it after the recce. In this we see Ollie having
fun on the carousel and then realising how what he is doing is strange and that
he misses human contact. This isn’t in the final film but I think it is a
lovely moment of emotion for the character and would work really well in a
slower longer cut. In hindsight I should have done a couple more takes but I felt
rushed as we needed to get to the next location. I also think these are
beautiful looking shots too, but just not necessary for the 10 minute film.
Taking into account that it was the
first shoot and we were very under crewed I think it went well. We managed to
all the shots we needed and did it within the schedule, give or take a few
minutes.
Roseleigh Shoot
Emma’s Bedroom
The scene where
we see the flashback to Ollie saying goodbye to his sister Emma before he left
on his journey was filmed at the Production base. This made things a lot easier
with feeding the cast and keeping people amused. The bedroom set was dressed by
Rosy, who did a great job making it look like it was Emma’s. Emma loved to
surround herself with photographs of flowers and this is clearly shown by the
set. The makeup for Emma was done by our makeup artist Ruby Rice, she did an
amazing job making actress Chelsea look at deaths door, with protruding veins,
sunken eyes and gaunt cheekbones.
The shot above is a nice establishing shot of the room, but it is nothing
special, I would have liked to go wider but as it was a small box room this was
not possible.
I did a few different angles of Emma in the bed and coughing, this one
is nice as it is a low shot on Emma’s level. It will work well cut with some of
the other angles.
The shot above really puts emphasis on the fact that Emma has just
coughed up blood, but because the tissue is out of focus it doesn’t give away
that it is fake blood too much.
I like this big close up of Emma’s face, in this shot she weakly opens
and closes her eyes, this would work quite well as a transition shot. If I were
to do it again I would go even tighter.
In this shot Ollie talks to Emma and tells her his plans. I really like
the beginning of this shot where you can see the expression on his face but
when he turns to speak to Emma you only get a profile view. Looking at the
footage now I can see that I needed to do a shot from Emma’s POV to get the
intimate emotion of the moment. I can only learn from my mistakes and improve
on my next project.
I like the depth created in this two shot, it shows quite a bit of the
room but doesn’t detract away from Emma who is the main focus of the scene.
There is a focus pull in this shot but I don’t think it is that noticeable. If
I were to do it again I would change the aperture to achieve a shallower depth
of field to make the focus pull more predominant. I feel this shoot went well
and I was starting to feel like a Director again, now it was time for the
‘Hippie Party’!
Hippie Party in the Garden
Now this is where it got really fun! We had a load of friends come round
dressed as hippies, well I say dressed as, they actually are hippies, with all
kinds of musical instruments. It was now that I felt myself slip into the role
of Director properly, I felt a lot more comfortable and everything seemed a lot
clearer, I knew it would only be a matter of time.
Overall I think the first day went well, I hope we carry on like this...
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